Cardiac Nats
by kgregs
Summary: Leah Zimmerman loves baseball. She loves the Washington Nationals. She's in love with their starting second baseman. But life - and a certain hotshot rookie - are throwing her a curveball. Danny Espinosa/OC/Bryce Harper. Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Michael Morse, Gio Gonzalez.
1. The Happiest Place on Earth

_So I'm way more nervous about posting this fic than my wrestling one. I think it's because pro wrestlers are already also actors, and so putting them in your own story doesn't seem like such a weird thing to do. But these are just plain old athletes and real people. I'm not gonna lie; I feel kinda weird about it._

_But I'm a writer, and I can't help my imagination._

_Hope you enjoy :)_**  
**

**Chapter One**

Screw Disney World – Nationals Park was the happiest place on Earth.

Leah Zimmerman loved everything about this ballpark. What wasn't there to love? The scoreboard was state-of-the-art, the field was impeccable, and there wasn't a bad seat in the house. As for food, it didn't matter whether you were craving the savory, smoky flavor of a Ben's Chili Bowl Half-Smoke, the decadent indulgence of a Shake Shack milkshake or any and everything in between; it was all right there in the yard. There was even a Build-A-Bear Workshop where the kiddies could bring to life their very own Screech. Although, at 21-years-old Leah certainly wasn't above going in there and making one – or two – for herself.

But what Leah loved most about Nationals Park didn't have anything to do with its structure or its amenities. What she loved most was the team that played there. It was a team that had become family, and a team which her brother had been starting for since its very inception in 2005.

"Oh come on, he's batting right now!"

Leah nearly tripped over herself when Heather grabbed her wrist and hurried them toward their usual box seats. Heather Downen was a native Washingtonian and quite possibly the Nats' biggest fan. Well, at the very least she was Ryan Zimmerman's biggest fan – she kind of had to be as his fiancée.

Lately, though, Ryan had been rather difficult to cheer for: They arrived just in time to watch him hit a pop-up off Orioles pitcher Wei-Yin Chen which was easily caught in foul territory. Leah frowned; it was obvious that her brother still hadn't recovered from the inflamed shoulder that had sent him to the 15-Day Disabled List just a few weeks earlier.

"Jeez, no wonder they're keeping Harper around."

Heather shot her a disapproving scowl for the comment, but Leah shrugged it off. She was only being so critical because she knew Ryan could do a hell of a lot better than his current .257 batting average. Furthermore, if he wanted to look worth the $100 million contract extension he had signed back in February it would do good to bring his numbers up, and quick; otherwise he would continue to be shown up by the very 19-year-old rookie who had been promoted to fill his spot during his stint on the DL: Bryce Harper.

It had been just under a month since Harper was brought up from Triple-A Syracuse, and the sports media hadn't stopped talking about him for a single minute. In a word, he was a playmaker: every time he stepped up to the plate he made something happen. Even when he wasn't trying at all the spotlight would manage find him – both good and bad.

Two weeks ago Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels had made sports headlines when he intentionally struck Harper in the back with a pitch. According to Hamels, it was an "old school" way of "welcoming" the rookie to the big leagues. Most 19-year-olds would have been incensed by the attack, but it hadn't affected Harper one bit; he let his skill do the talking by stealing home the very same inning.

Just last week Harper's name had been in the news again, albeit due to reckless actions of his own. Frustrated after striking out in the seventh inning in the series final against the Cincinnati Reds, he had returned to the dugout tunnel and violently swung his bat against the wall – which then ricocheted back and struck him above his left eye, busting him open. He had returned to the outfield with blood trickling down the side of his face, and required 10 stitches after the game. The outburst had caused many to bring his maturity into question – something his name wasn't unfamiliar with.

But all that aside, there was always something someone was saying about Harper. He was a veritable phenom, completely dedicated to his sport and unbelievably confident in his ability. He had earned his GED and left high school two years early just to be eligible for the 2010 MLB draft, and the strategy had paid off in spades when he was the first player selected. He had won the 2010 Golden Spikes Award for amateur player of the year. There was already a book about him and he hadn't even been in the majors a full month. His talent was polarizing: some loved him for his heart while others judged him for his arrogance. Some thought he was too aggressive a player while others still didn't like him just for the sake of not liking him.

But no matter what they thought of him, no one could make a valid argument that he wasn't a star.

"You have to admit he's good," Leah stated.

"I don't have to admit anything," Heather stubbornly replied. "I _know_ he's good. I just want Ryan to do that good, too. You should understand – Danny's not batting so hot, either."

Leah turned away from the pointed expression on Heather's face. The absolute last thing she wanted to think about right now was Danny's failing batting average.

The two girls turned their attention back to the game. Since Ryan's pop-out Adam LaRoche had walked, advancing Harper – who had already been on base – to second, and now the Orioles pitching coach was out on the mound giving Chen a pep talk. It was the bottom of the fifth, and with the Nats ahead by two the last thing the O's wanted was for their deficit to increase; they had a potential sweep on the line.

But the coach's visit was no use. When play resumed Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond singled on a ground ball to center field, allowing LaRoche to make it to second and Harper to run home. The score was now 5-3 Nats.

"And _that's_ why Ian is my favorite!" Leah proclaimed.

The ball game continued on, and Leah enjoyed every single second of it – even more so than usual. Today was a wonderful day. The weather was gorgeous, her Nats were winning, and she and Heather had been late to the game for a very good reason: that morning Leah had graduated with honors from George Washington University with a B.A. in Athletic Training. All of her hard work and sleepless nights had finally paid off, and tomorrow was the start of the next chapter: she was beginning an internship with the Nats' high-A club, the Potomac Nationals. Her next goal was to become certified by the National Athletic Training Association, and if one day she could get a job with the same ball club as her brother she would be happier than a duck in a pond.

Needless to say, she was raring to celebrate tonight.

Triumphant air horns sounded throughout the park at the close of the top of the ninth inning. The boys had won 9-3, staving off the sweep in the Battle of the Beltways and bringing their season record to 24-17. As soon as she could Leah wanted to find and congratulate Danny; he had hit an RBI homer in the bottom of the eighth, effectively shutting up Heather about the current state of his batting average.

The girls gathered their things and headed out, and after waiting for what felt like forever in the tunnel they finally spotted Ryan, along with Harper and Ian, as they emerged from the clubhouse. A giant grin broke out over Ian's face when he spotted Leah.

"Min Zim!" he called out the nickname the ball club had bestowed upon her years ago: "Min Zim," short for "Mini Zimmerman." Leah had Michael Morse to thank for that one.

"Congrats, kid," he said as he arrived and wrapped her up in a hug. "Next thing you know you'll be in the Nats dugout keeping us in working order."

"That's the plan," she said with a cheeky grin at Ryan; he just rolled his eyes. He was proud of his sister, of course, but he wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of her potentially becoming one of his trainers. Knowing how competitive they were with each other they would find some way to turn it into an _I-know-better-than-you_ contest.

"Hey, you haven't met Harp yet have you?"

Leah politely shook her head at Ian's question. What with senior papers and capstone projects and final exams and packing up and moving out of the dorms and all the other stress that came with graduating college she hadn't been at the ballpark much over the last several weeks, and as such she had yet to be introduced to the 19-year-old phenom. Seeing him up close she realized he was much taller than she had thought: at 5'8" Leah was by no means short, but Harper still towered over her by seven whole inches.

"Leah, this is Bryce. Bryce, this is Leah; Zim's dear little sister. You can call her Min Zim."

She gave a slight roll of her eyes at Ian's smirk as she shook Bryce's hand. His palm was rough like any other major league player's, worn after years of fielding baseballs and swinging bats. "It's nice to finally meet you. You had a good eye out there today."

"Thanks," he nodded. Leah could tell he was genuinely grateful for the compliment; it didn't seem like the constant praise from everyone over his talent was going to his head. "Congratulations on the graduation. I hear you're starting a training internship with the P-Nats."

"That I am," she beamed. "I really can't wait, I'm super excited."

"So you're hitting the town tonight right? You gotta celebrate getting that degree!"

It was an innocent and expected question for Ian to ask, but Leah turned suddenly bashful. She turned her eyes to the ground and tried to keep a smile from breaking out over her lips, but it was in vain. "Yeah, Danny and I will probably do something."

The mood of the group shifted entirely with that one simple sentence. It was no big secret that Leah's relationship with Nationals starting second baseman Danny Espinosa was a sore subject between her and Ryan. Well, it was no big secret to anyone except Bryce – he was the only one who seemed confused at the way Ryan's brow had hardened.

Leah knew she needed to change the subject, and quick. "How are Chelsey and Grayson? I haven't seen them in forever!"

Ian lit up at the mention of his wife and infant son. "They're good. Chelsey's upset you won't be able to babysit anymore."

"Ha! Well, I suppose I'd make an exception for you guys."

The start of an awkward silence set in; it seemed Leah's diversion hadn't quite worked. Ian took it as his cue to exit. "Well, we should probably get going," he said with a glance at Bryce. "We're getting something to eat with a few of the others if any of you want to join?"

"I think we're just gonna head home," Ryan answered. "It's been a long day."

"Hey I understand, man. I'll see you tomorrow." He and Bryce both said their goodbyes to Ryan and Heather and congratulated Leah one more time before going on their way – and leaving her at the mercy of her older brother.

"You know Danny needs to make the bus to Philly tomorrow morning."

"Ryan," Heather started, but her attempt to stifle the impending argument was futile.

"What do you think I'm gonna do, get him wasted?" Leah charged. "I may have just graduated college today but I'm not _that_ crazy."

"Leah, you know I don't think—"

"Yeah, and you know I don't care what you think."

Ryan's nostrils flared at his sister's stubbornness. "Look, now that you work for the organization don't you think it would look a bit unprofessional—"

"_Ryan,_" Heather firmly cut him off for good that time. "Now is not the time for this." At times Ryan could be just as bullheaded as Leah; but if there was anyone on the planet who could shut that down in a heartbeat it was Heather.

"Have fun tonight okay, sweetheart?" she said as she gave Leah a hug. Sometimes Leah could have sworn Heather had been sent by God just to act as a buffer between her and Ryan. "Call me if you need anything."

Leah nodded. She didn't bother to acknowledge Ryan as they left.

She wished Danny would hurry up.

* * *

"Dude, I still can't believe you hit that homer tonight," Gio said to Stras before taking another giant bite out of his equally giant burger. As the two star starting pitchers for the Washington Nationals, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg were naturally competitive with each other, and it only worked to make them better every time they took the mound.

"Gotta catch up, man," Stras teased, but of the two of them he was most definitely the less competitive.

"Whatever," Gio muttered with a full mouth. He, Stras, Ian, and Bryce had gone out for a bite before turning in for the night. The next morning they would all have to be up bright and early to pile onto the team bus and head up to Philadelphia for the next series.

"Did you guys see Min Zim tonight?" Gio piped up again once his mouth was free of food. In addition to being one of the most competitive he was also the most talkative on the entire team, hands down. "That's awesome she got an internship with the P-Nats."

Ian laughed shortly to himself. "Yeah, I'm sure Ryan is praying it keeps her busy enough that she won't have any time for Danny."

"Are you kidding?" Gio returned. "Ryan would wrap the girl in bubble wrap if he could."

All the guys got a chuckle out of that. Ryan was the archetypical older brother, both in his family and in the dugout. But even though he could be a tad overprotective when it came to Leah, it wasn't all that hard for Ian to understand his teammate's position.

"I mean yeah, Ryan can be a bit uptight sometimes but Leah's his baby sister. And I love Danny, but you know how he is – he's not exactly relationship-minded. Ryan's just trying to look out for her. Honestly, Morse and I kind of feel the same way. We just aren't so vocal about it."

Up until now, Bryce had been listening to the entire conversation in silence. He knew Danny and Ryan's little sister's personal life was none of his business… but the way the guys were talking about it had piqued his curiosity. Besides, he had learned fast that this ball club was close as family; if you had a personal life you should pretty much expect it to be talked about.

"Have they been together long?"

"Danny and Min Zim?" Ian asked.

Bryce nodded; Ian sighed.

"If you want to use the word 'together' then they've been together for about a year now. But it's casual, you know? There's no label on it, and Danny isn't with her, per se. I mean, he's not out hooking up with other women, but… he's keeping his options open."

"A _year?_" Bryce was surprised. He thought after a year of any sort of relationship with a woman a mature 25-year-old the likes of Danny would have been able to commit to a decision, whether that was to be with her or not. "They've been doing this for a year and he hasn't decided one way or the other?"

"Now you see why Ryan doesn't like it?"

"For sure," Gio added in.

Bryce just raised his brows and went back to his food. He had a sister too, and if he knew a guy had been stringing her along like that for a whole year he probably would have knocked his lights out.

"But whatever," Ian continued. "They're gonna do what they wanna do, and Ryan has yet to accept that. I don't like it either, but as long as it doesn't affect the ball club I'll do my best to keep my nose out of it."

Bryce couldn't agree more. The guys could do what they wanted outside the ballpark – he was just here to play baseball.

* * *

Leah was an absolute ball of nerves.

She had gone out with Danny a hundred times before, but it was different now. She wasn't a student living in a dorm room anymore, but a college grad living in her own apartment. She wasn't just dreaming of one day working in the Nationals organization, she was actually working in it. She finally felt like an independent adult – and she hoped Danny would finally start to treat her like one.

There was a knock on the apartment door and she jumped from her position in front of the bathroom mirror, startled. She primped her hair and checked her makeup one last time before scurrying down the hallway, and when she arrived at the door she took one last steadying breath before pulling it open.

There in the hall stood Danny in all his tall, dark, and handsome glory.

"Hey, baby," she smiled as she pulled him in to give him a kiss. He smelled absolutely delicious, and it nearly drove her crazy.

Danny took in the little coral-colored dress she was wearing and smirked. "Look at you." He drew her into him and kissed her again, but it was no innocent peck this time around. He took his sweet time, nipping and parting her lips, entangling his hand in and tugging at her long dark hair. By the time they managed to stop Leah's whole body was flushed.

"Maybe we should stay in tonight," he said. The low husk in his voice was all too telling of just what it was he wanted.

"Aw. You don't want to show me off?" she pouted. A little teasing never hurt.

He shook his head. "I'm feeling a bit selfish."

He brought his lips to her neck, but Leah stepped back just before she could succumb to his touch; she was having way too much fun toying with him. "You know, it's a real shame," she said as she smoothed her hands down her sides. His eyes were busy sliding over her legs; he had always said they were his favorite part of her body. "This is a new dress, and I was really excited to wear it out."

Danny flashed that all-too-sexy, perfectly crooked smirk and it was game over. God, how that smirk got to her.

"Then I'll try not to rip it."

He pulled her in for another hungry kiss and Leah just couldn't resist him any longer. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs tight around his waist; he pushed the fabric of her dress higher and higher up her thighs, eager and impatient to feel her.

They couldn't get to her bed fast enough.

* * *

_A/N: Review? :)_


	2. Rain, Rain Go Away

_Thank you so much to those who have reviewed and even followed this little ol' fic. You fill me with all kinds of warm feels inside. I wasn't going to post this chapter just yet, but since tonight's game has been postponed due to stupid rain I figured I'd take advantage of your withdrawal :) Enjoy and please review!  
_

**Chapter Two**

Leah's last few days had been exhausting.

Her initiation as an apprentice athletic trainer for the Potomac Nationals had taken place on the road. They had played a three-game series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks – and unfortunately they hadn't won a single game. Individually, all the boys on the P-Nats were great; but they seemed to be having some difficulty working as a team. Needless to say, the morale on the bus wasn't too high at the moment.

Although, it was difficult for Leah to be too incredibly somber while sitting next to Michael Morse.

"I blame you. You're bad luck – like a woman on a ship."

She just shook her head. Morse was the biggest goof in the entire Nationals organization, not to mention unbelievably superstitious. "Okay, Jack Sparrow."

"I could totally rock his look and you know it," he returned. "I'm part Jamaican."

"One, please don't. And two, it's in part thanks to this _woman_ that you'll be back with the Nats on Friday."

"In part?" he scoffed. "Yeah, like one thousandth of a part. Alan did all the _real_ work."

He was only teasing, and Leah knew it. "Why are you such a jerk to me all the time?"

He grinned. "'Cause you're my friend."

"Gee," she dryly returned, "I feel so special."

"That's what I was going for," he answered. Leah couldn't help but smile.

All of a sudden her phone started to ring. She fished it out of her jacket pocket, but when she saw the name on the caller ID she stopped short.

It was Danny.

The last three days had kept her so busy she hadn't had time to think about it, but now Leah realized she and Danny had barely spoken since the last time she had seen him, the night of her graduation.

A frown crossed her face. That night had been wonderful… up until the morning after. Danny hadn't even stayed for breakfast; when Leah had woken he had already been getting ready to leave. Yes, they had slept in a bit and yes, he had to be at the ballpark in a few hours – but knowing that hadn't kept her from feeling like little more than a tool for his needs.

Truthfully, it wasn't that unfamiliar a feeling when it came to Danny.

"Are you gonna answer it?"

Morse's question brought her out of her thoughts. He was staring at her phone the way a dog would a treat. Like Ian, he knew more about her situation with Danny than anyone else; and not only was he a goof, he was nosey.

"Answer it! I wanna listen!"

Of course he wanted to listen. She rolled her eyes as she tapped the screen, answering just before it could go to voicemail.

"Hello?"

"Hey, baby."

Hearing Danny's voice made Leah's heart feel a bit lighter; but then she heard more voices in the background and remembered the team was on their way to Atlanta for the next three days. After that they would head straight to Miami for three more. She wouldn't be able to see him again for another week at least.

"Are you on the bus?"

"Yeah," he answered. "We didn't win tonight."

"I know," she said. The Nats had lost the series finale against the Phillies 1-4. She also knew Danny had only gotten one hit the whole game and he couldn't be very happy; he had always been hard on himself. "But at least you won the series. We didn't win tonight, either. Or last night… or the night before."

"Obviously you're not doing your job," he joked. It gave Morse a laugh.

Leah smiled in spite of herself. "I'm a _trainer_, not a coach." She just knew he was grinning on the other end. She could feel it.

"Where's your next series at?"

"We're on our way to Lynchburg for the weekend," she explained with a bit of a tired sigh. "Then we have Myrtle Beach at home."

"Welcome to life on the road."

"Thanks," she accepted. Honestly she didn't mind it; road tripping was one of her favorite things. Then again, she had only just begun this new life on the road. One day it might become tiring, but for the moment it was still far too exciting. "Speaking of that, you won't be back in town until next Thursday."

"I know. Make sure you're home – I promise I'll come over and stay for breakfast."

Morse wagged his eyebrows, but Leah gave him a shove on the shoulder. It was a bittersweet thing for Danny to say.

"I would like that," she answered, but the warmth of her tone hid a myriad of stormy emotions.

Suddenly there was a lot of rustling coming from Danny's end. "Hey, we're making a quick rest stop. I'm gonna find something to eat and then pass out until we get to Atlanta."

"Okay," she said, and the heaviness in her heart increased. They had barely been talking for 5 minutes!

"Get some wins in Lynchburg for us."

"We will," her tone was dejected, weary. Either Danny didn't pick up on it or he just didn't want to deal with it at the moment.

"Bye, babe. I'll talk to you as soon as I can."

"Bye."

She hung up and returned her phone to her pocket. Morse knew she was upset, and he knew exactly why without any words being said.

"I warned you about Danny, Min."

Her sad brown eyes turned angry as she glared daggers at him; now was not the time for _I told you so_.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," he quickly explained. "You're like my little sister. I know you care about Danny, and I can assure you he cares about you, too. But what I can't assure you is that he can give you what you want."

_What you want_. The words rang in Leah's ears. She knew exactly what she wanted with Danny: A committed, official relationship.

But at the moment, Morse's lack of reassurance held far more weight than any hope Leah had.

* * *

The Nats had been swept.

It was a crappy feeling. They had gotten their very first sweep of the season off the Atlanta Braves only to come down to Miami and have the Marlins do the same to them. Now their position as the number one team in the National League East was being threatened by a team that used to be dead last. They would need to beat the Braves in their upcoming homestand this weekend if they wanted to stay on top – and they were determined to make exactly that happen. They had gotten too used to being number one to fall behind now.

But for the moment, Bryce was still stewing over his performance in that night's 5-3 loss; and he was not happy. In fact, he was downright pissed. He had been on a nine-game hitting streak and tonight he hadn't gotten on base once. Not one single damn time. And there was absolutely nothing in the world that vexed him more than being kept off base.

Ryan couldn't help but notice the kid's sour mood – it was rather hard to miss, what with the stone-faced expression he was wearing as he glared out the bus window. This was the only time Bryce ever acted like a teenager: when he wasn't happy with his performance.

"Buck up, hotshot. We all have our off days. Hell, I've been having an off week… or month." He didn't know why, but Ryan felt like he needed to take Bryce under his wing. He saw a lot of himself in the young outfielder: Ryan had only been a year older than Bryce when he himself had started playing for the Nats back in 2005, and with all the same aggressiveness and unbelievably high standards to which Bryce held himself. Besides, the whole reason Bryce was here now was because he had been brought up to replace Ryan in the batting order while he had been on the DL – so he kind of felt responsible for him.

"I try to keep my off days to a minimum," Bryce returned.

He wasn't making the responsibility easy to take, though.

"Listen," Ryan started, "you just got up here and you've been doing way better than average so far; I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. But you're _19_, man. You have a long career ahead of you, and more often than not you're going to walk away from that plate disappointed and feeling like shit. So you can't sweat it when you don't perform up to your own standards. Just do your best to meet them at the next game."

The pep talk seemed to get through to Bryce. Well, he didn't look any less disappointed in himself but at least he had stopped staring out the window. "I know, man. I put a lot of pressure on myself, but that's how I've gotten this far, you know?"

"There's nothing wrong with putting pressure on yourself. Just don't let it negatively affect your mental game." Ryan gave a wry laugh. "That's why I'm stuck in a fucking dry spell right now."

Bryce shot him a surprised look. "You? Come on, Zim. You're like the Nats' poster boy for coolness under pressure."

"It's not nearly as easy as it looks," he answered. "I feel like everything is coming at me all at once. The shit with my shoulder and trying to get back into the swing of things; Heather's been planning the wedding and I feel like an ass because I haven't been able to help at all. And now there's a whole bunch of crap with my sister and her position with the P-Nats. There's too much going on right now. Some days I feel like I can't focus."

"Just leave that stuff in the locker room," the rookie was the one giving advice now. "None of it matters when you step out on the field."

"It doesn't," Ryan agreed. "But that doesn't mean it can't wear you out."

* * *

The entire Washington, D.C. area was being pounded by one of the most violent storm systems it had seen all year. Roads were flooded, a tornado watch was in effect until 9 p.m., and the Nats and P-Nats home games against the respective Braves and Hillcats had both been postponed.

And it meant Leah had Danny all to herself.

They were cuddled up on her couch, watching TV and listening to the sound of the rain. Leah breathed him in for what must have been the millionth time – he was wearing her absolute favorite scent of Old Spice. She loved the way he smelled.

"It's nice to have two days off in a row," he said as he trailed his fingers up and down her arm. "I think we needed it after the crazy amount of traveling we just went through."

"At least you got to sleep yesterday," she said with a cheeky grin up at him. He had come over not long after arriving back in D.C. from Miami and passed right out in her bed. It had made her happy, just having him there like that. He could have just as easily gone to his place, but he had come to hers. It made her feel like he really did want to be there.

"I just wish I could take you out. You know, to make up for the last time I was supposed to."

She looked up to see him smirking impishly down at her – he clearly had zero regrets for not taking her out the night of her graduation, not one. She couldn't say that she blamed him, though; they had certainly had much more fun staying in. "Trust me; you don't have to make up for last time."

"But you wanted to wear your new dress," he went on, the playful smirk never leaving his lips.

"Well, you were nice enough not to rip it so I can wear it another time."

His grin grew and he drew her lips into his. Leah's stomach went all aflutter.

The minutes passed in comfortable silence as the storm calmed outside; but it was an entirely different story inside Leah's mind. A million and one thoughts were accumulating in her brain; and before long they had built up into a high-pressure system that she just couldn't contain any longer.

"Danny," she sat up so as to look him squarely in the eye. "What do you consider this to be?"

As soon as the words left her mouth Danny seemed to wilt. "Leah, we've talked about this before."

"I know we have. And you've always said you didn't think we should be 'together' while I was still in school. Well, I'm not in school anymore."

"I know," he consented. And then, "But—"

"But what?" she interrupted. She honestly couldn't see how there was a "but" in this conversation. "I want to be with you, Danny, and unless I'm mistaken over the course of the last year I've been under the impression that you want to be with me, too."

"I do, Leah. You know that."

"Then what's the problem? Are you really that worried about what my brother thinks?"

"No," he almost laughed at her. "I'm a grown ass man. I don't have to answer to anyone about who I spend my time with."

"Then—"

"Baby," he appeased her, "listen to me for a second. I'm trying to be realistic about how easy it would be to make a relationship work."

Those words were like a punch to the gut. It was as if the wind had been knocked out of her. "What?"

A sigh escaped him. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

"I'm on the road virtually six months out of the year, and during the offseason I'm clear across the country in California. We would hardly have any time together."

"What?" The question blurted out of Leah's mouth; his reasoning had her completely and utterly baffled. That was something every pro baseball player had to deal with: the struggle to keep relationships afloat in the face of a hectic schedule. Of course it was difficult, but plenty of guys made it work just fine. After all hadn't they been, on some sort of level, making it work for the last year? "Why would it have to be any different than it is now? I would see you when you're here for games, just like I do now. And as for the offseason, I'm an adult; I can come visit you in California."

He smirked, as if he knew something she didn't. "Babe, you're gonna be a hell of a lot busier now that you work in baseball. Trust me."

"So? Like I said, I want to be with you so I will _make_ the time, even if I don't have it."

Danny grew quiet after that. It angered Leah. It communicated that he didn't have anything to combat her argument with because he knew she was right – and for some reason he didn't care enough to admit it.

"You're afraid of the label, aren't you?" she asked. "You don't want the pressure of an actual relationship."

"Because I don't want to disappoint you!"

Her brow furrowed. "Why are you automatically assuming you would?"

"Because things change when you add the label, Leah."

The previous punch to the gut had been mild compared to hearing that. That was like a stab in the heart.

"I'm not trying to tie you down, Danny. I just want to be with you and only you, and I'm sorry but there is some sense of security that comes along with the whole 'boyfriend-girlfriend' thing."

He couldn't look at her anymore; he had all but shut down. "I know."

That was the end of the conversation for Leah. She hated arguing with anyone, and having this particular argument with Danny – and facing his uncertainty – was just too much right now.

"Fine. Let me know when you figure out what it is you want."

She pushed herself off the couch and retreated to the safety of her bedroom. Danny really had no idea what he was putting her through.

Because he had no idea she loved him.


	3. Clutch

_Here's to hoping the Nats clinch the division today!_

**Chapter Three**

The NL East was locked in a dead heat.

After the first game of their three-game series had been rained out the Nationals and Braves had taken one each. The Nats' record now stood at 30-22, enough to keep them mathematically atop the division with a .577 winning percentage. But with both the Marlins and the Mets with a record of 31-23 and standing a mere three thousandths of a point behind there was a virtual three-way tie for the number one spot. If that wasn't enough, the last-place Phillies were only three and a half games behind the Nats. In the entire MLB only the American League East could be argued to be a tighter division.

But despite that his team was still on top, all Ryan could think about was how poorly he was still hitting.

"Do you like the lighter blue or the darker blue?"

He broke out of his TV-induced daze and glanced absentmindedly at Heather. "What?"

She turned her iPad screen toward him. "I think I want to wear blue shoes for the wedding, but I can't decide which shade."

He smirked. "If you buy either of those you'll probably find a pair you like better in a few months."

"But what if it turns out I like these and then I can't get them in a few months?"

"Then you can blame me."

Heather met his grin with a frown. She set the iPad on the nightstand and suddenly turned serious.

"Ryan, what's wrong."

As soon as the words left her mouth Ryan's head fell back in exhaustion. He really didn't want to talk about this or anything, really. He just wanted to watch TV and pass out.

"You know what's wrong, Heather."

"You're right, I do. But you haven't talked to me about any of it. I know you like to work these things through on your own, but you really haven't been yourself lately. Just talk to me. It's what I'm here for."

She was absolutely right, and that made him feel even worse. He had been withdrawn and cranky for weeks now, but he really didn't want to burden her with everything he was dealing with – she had enough on her own plate. "I don't want to worry you with all my crap, babe. You've been dealing with stuff too… like shopping for shoes."

All she had to do was give him that look and he knew he wasn't getting any sleep until he started talking. So he started talking.

"I've been absolutely terrible since getting off the DL. Did you see what happened tonight? Two _rookies_ got up and hit back-to-back homers in their very first at-bats, and then what did I do right after them? I grounded out, and I didn't get on base all night, just like I've done every single other night. It's embarrassing and it feels like shit, and honestly I'm still trying to work through this crap with my shoulder."

Heather's lips turned down further. She hated seeing Ryan so upset, and she had to admit she had never seen him in such a slump before. But she had to stay positive for him; it was her job. "Everyone has their ups and downs; you'll bounce back. But if your shoulder still hurts you should really go see the trainers."

"It doesn't hurt," he countered. "It just, I don't know, isn't working right. But I am meeting with them before Tuesday's game to work on it."

"Just don't think about it too much," she said. "I feel like I've lost you inside your own head these last few weeks."

"Speaking of trainers," Ryan went on, "I haven't talked to my sister in over a week."

"She's been just as busy as you."

"Have you talked to her?"

"Yes."

This time it was Ryan giving Heather the look.

"Well," she started, "honestly, Ryan, she hasn't been talking to you because you don't want to talk to her about the things that are weighing most on her mind right now."

"What should be weighing most on her mind right now is that certifying exam she says she's taking," he stubbornly returned. It didn't impress Heather.

"Ry, she has her father to tell her that. Be her brother."

"I _am_ being her brother!" he argued. "I'm doing my best to try to look out for her, but she's too bullheaded to listen!"

"No she's not," Heather objected. "She doesn't listen to you because you talk _at_ her, not _with_ her. You try to tell her what to do rather than give her advice. There's a difference, babe. I wouldn't listen to you, either."

He smirked. "You never listen to me, anyway." Heather ignored the comment.

"Just be her friend. You two were a lot closer when you weren't trying to regulate her personal life. She's 21. Let her do what she wants."

Again, Ryan knew she was right. But he wanted the best for Leah – and even though he loved Danny like a brother, he just didn't know if he was it. "I just want her to be happy."

"Well, Leah cares about Danny; more than I think you realize."

That was something Ryan definitely didn't want to think about. Was Leah even old enough or experienced enough to truly understand those kinds of feelings? It seemed like a moronic thing to wonder, but she still felt so young and innocent to him. It seemed like only yesterday she had been a pigtailed little five-year-old cheering on her big brother at little league.

But she wasn't five-years-old anymore. She was a 21-year-old adult, and Ryan just couldn't try to shepherd her any longer.

* * *

Leah had every intention of soaking in a hot bubble bath the second she got through the door. It had been a long, long weekend.

To make up for the rain-out on Friday the P-Nats had played a double header against the Lynchburg Hillcats on Saturday, followed by the final game that night. It had been exhausting, but the boys had swept the series with an 8-0 shutout in the finale. Leah wished Morse had been there just so she could rub it in his face.

But the real motivation for a long, hot soak was the impending arrival of the morning. Tomorrow she was heading up to Frederick, Maryland with the team for the next four days, so she wanted to take full advantage of the minimal luxury of her own bathroom while she had the chance.

As soon as she opened the door, though, those plans completely changed.

"Hey."

For a second she thought her exhaustion was giving her hallucinations. Cupcakes and candles sat on her coffee table, a bottle of red wine… and Danny with a very sheepish look on his face.

Truthfully, she was regretting giving him a key.

"What are you doing here?"

That seemed to be the reaction he was expecting. "Trying to get out of the dog house."

She pursed her lips at him. Danny had apologized several times since their fight, but Leah hadn't exactly accepted any of them. He still hadn't said the thing she most wanted to hear.

But those cupcakes looked like red velvet, so she'd be willing to give him another chance tonight.

"I'm listening," she said. This had _better_ be good.

He took a tentative step toward her. Truthfully, he looked the most nervous she had ever seen him – and somehow seeing that nervousness was a comfort.

"I've thought a lot about what happened the other night, and the one thing I haven't been able to get out of my head is the last thing you said to me. You told me to let you know when I figured out what it was that I wanted. Well, this is me letting you know."

Leah shifted her weight; now she was the nervous one. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, she still worried he was seconds away from breaking her heart.

"If you've ever doubted my intentions, I'm sorry. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I really haven't treated you fairly in all this. This whole time I've been doing what _I_ thought was best without really considering how you felt about it or how it affected you; and the other night I saw how much that's been hurting you.

"That's the last thing I want, Leah. I don't ever want to hurt you, and I definitely don't want to make this relationship any harder than it already has been on you. _That's_ why I was worried about making things official, and my schedule, and the distance during the offseason; and honestly, I'm still worried about it. I don't want to feel like an absentee boyfriend or make you think I don't care, because that's not the case at all. I care about you a lot more than I've shown, and I don't want to lose you."

Leah suddenly realized just how close he was to her now. Her heart was pounding, and she could smell his wonderful cologne.

"So," gently he pulled her closer, "if you'll still have me, nothing would make me happier than if we made this official."

Any intention of playing hard to get was thrown out the window with the bubble bath. Leah couldn't keep the ecstatic smile from breaking out over her lips.

"Is that a yes?" he grinned.

"Yes," she nodded, and she kissed him.

Finally.

* * *

It was the top of the 12th inning. The Nationals and Mets were tied at five runs – and the game had become an absolute battle of wills.

The Nats had been in the lead until the top of the eighth inning when all hell broke loose. The Mets had gotten one on second with one out and Craig Stammen, the Nats' fourth pitcher of the night, had been put on the mound to face Mets outfielder Scott Hairston in a righty-righty match up to hopefully keep the runner at bay.

But the strategy backfired. Hairston walked, and right afterward Mets outfielder Andres Torres hit an RBI double to bring both runners home and give his team a 4-3 lead.

At least, they had had the lead until Ian Desmond hit an RBI single to drive Ryan home the very same inning – and from that point forward the game had continued on in exactly that fashion. The Mets would score one, and right afterward Ian – no one else – would answer with an RBI hit to tie it up.

Win or lose, there was no doubting who the Nats MVP was tonight.

But they really didn't plan on losing.

Ross Detwiler, the Nats' eighth pitcher now, was on the mound. Hairston, the perennial thorn in the side, was at bat with a full count and no outs. Detwiler threw an 80 mph slider…

And Hairston hit it out of the park. The score now stood at 6-5 Mets. Apparently they didn't plan on losing, either.

"Fuck!" Gio proclaimed from the dugout. From next to him Stras shook his head.

"Looks like Desi's gotta do it again."

It only got worse after the homer: Torres walked and then managed to steal second. All of Nationals Park was on the edge of its seat – whoever won this would be on top of the NL East, and as clutch as the Nats had been playing the Mets would be at a huge advantage if they could get ahead by two.

Third baseman David Wright grounded out to Danny, but Torres advanced to third. Detwiler still had two outs to get, and another Mets run was all too too close for comfort.

Mets pitcher Elvin Ramirez was up next, and it turned out to be a blessing. He struck out after four pitches. Just one more out now…

And Detwiler got it after just three pitches with a groundout by second baseman Daniel Murphy. The Nats offense was up once again – and once again they would have to at least match the Mets.

Morse was due up first. "Just get on base," Ian said to him before he went out. "You got this."

Morse nodded; he had this. He _had_ to have this.

He took a few deep breaths as he stepped up to the plate. Ramirez was still pitching; he had retired three of the last four batters he had faced. Morse readied his stance and held out his bat. He had this. It was time to make something happen.

The first pitch was a four-seam fastball. Morse didn't swing – he could tell it wasn't over the plate. Ball one.

The second pitch was another fastball. Ball two. It made Morse antsy; balls were better than strikes, but neither was better than a hit.

The next pitch came and he swung away. The bat connected – but the ball fouled off. Strike one.

Morse shuffled his feet in the dirt as he took a second. So far all Ramirez had shown him were fastballs. If he could get a hold of one he knew he could get on base.

He repositioned himself, as did Ramirez. The third pitch was yet another fastball, and yet another ball. One more ball and he would walk, but one more foul or strike and the count would be full. Morse was all too aware of how crucial the next pitch was.

His eyes trained in on Ramirez like an animal's would its kill. He wound up, cocked back his arm and fired. Morse swung – and when the barrel hit the ball it was driven hard down the line to right field. It was good enough for a double.

"Still got it," he breathed to himself once he had arrived safely on second base. He had done the bare minimum of what he needed to: get in scoring position. Now he only hoped Ian could work some more of his magic and bring him home.

The fans were raucous as Ian stepped up to the plate; they had more than enough faith that he would tie it up for a third time, and even from all the way on second base Morse could see just how determined he was. After all, Ramirez was pitching nothing but fastballs – Ian's favorite. He was definitely looking for a hit.

But the first pitch was a ball. If there was one thing working in the Nats' favor it was that the Mets were tiring and becoming sloppier as the game went on. They weren't as used to playing extra innings as the Nats were: they had only done it twice this season, whereas the Nats had already done it seven times.

Morse inched further and further off base; Ramirez wasn't paying any attention to him. He threw the pitch, and as soon as Ian's bat connected and Morse saw that the ball was fair he took off as fast as he could.

The ball skidded out to Vinny Rottino in left field; Ian made it to second; and Morse made it home. The score was, for the third time that night, all tied up. Ian had done it again.

"Holy shit, man!" Ryan exclaimed as he gave Morse a high five on his way through the dugout. "Desi ate his Wheaties this morning!"

"He's locked in," Morse agreed. "Now we just need to get him home."

Danny was up next. He got a piece of the very first pitch – but it popped up and was caught by Rottino for the first out.

"Fuck," Ryan muttered. Danny hadn't been their last hope for a good hit, but he was damn well near it. The catcher, Jesus Flores, was next – and while his batting average was decent at .271, they wouldn't be receiving much support from Detwiler after him if they needed it.

"It's okay," Morse assured him. "I can feel it. Ramirez is losing it."

Sure enough, as soon as the words left his mouth Ramirez pitched a ball so wild that Josh Thole couldn't catch it. Ian stole third without batting an eye.

"See! And here comes the coach."

The Mets pitching coach and the entire infield converged on the mound in an effort to calm down their pitcher. All of Nationals Park was in an uproar – they could taste a win for the home team and they wanted to get on with the game, already.

Eventually the coach returned to the dugout and the players returned to their positions; but when Thole didn't squat back down behind home plate it became apparent that the decision had been made to intentionally walk Flores.

"It's okay," Morse said again. For some reason he felt the need to talk through everything, as if it would somehow alleviate the suspense. "Even if Det strikes out we still have a chance to get Desi home. And even if we don't, we're still in the game."

But as it turned out they didn't need to worry about Detwiler striking out; Ramirez just couldn't handle the pressure. He threw one ball, and then another – and when the second one hit the dirt Flores stole second.

"Shit we've got to get it this time," Ryan commented. "He's practically gift-wrapping the win for us."

He almost ate his words when the next two pitches were strikes. The dugout fell quiet.

Pitch five: ball. The count was full. Pitch six…

Another ball. Detwiler walked and the bases were loaded with one out. The stands erupted with cheers and the Nats dugout was all smiles, if not a bit stressed.

"C'mon, Nady," Morse urged as Xavier Nady took his place in the batter's box. For the first time that inning Ramirez pitched something other than a four-seam fastball: he threw a slider, and it went in the dirt.

"Three more and he'll walk us home," Ryan stated.

But Nady fouled off the next pitch, and the one after that was a called strike. If he wanted to stay in the game he had two options: hope Ramirez threw some more bad pitches, or get a hit.

Pitch four was another ball in the dirt. Pitch five was off the plate. Once again the count was full.

Pitch six was good, and Nady's bat got a hold of it. He hit a ground ball straight to Mets first baseman Ike Davis, but rather than tag out Nady he threw to Thole to get Ian out at home. The bases were still loaded, the score was still 6-6, and the Nats had two outs.

And Bryce Harper was the next batter.

Nationals Park was on fire – they knew The Kid was a game-changer, and they were ready to see what he could do.

But all the excitement made him overeager: he swung away and missed the first pitch. Strike one. The stands quieted, but not by much.

He stepped back from the plate to reset. The absolute last thing he wanted to do in this situation was strike out. He wanted a hit. He wanted to win. As he always did he looked to the end of his bat, took a deep breath, touched the top and bottom of the plate and squared up.

Ramirez took his sweet time; he didn't want screw up, either. He trained in on his catcher and fired. It was over the plate, and Harper didn't swing. Strike two.

The electricity in the atmosphere was likely to implode the stadium. One more strike stood between the Nats and a 13th inning.

Ramirez wound up. He fired a four-seam fastball, but Bryce saw it in slow motion. He swung, and with a crack his barrel connected.

It was a line drive to left field and everyone knew that was the game. Rottino found the ball, but by the time he did Flores was already two-thirds of the way home; he scored with plenty of time.

The Nationals dugout rushed the field. A 19-year-old rookie had just hit a two-out bases-loaded RBI single in the bottom of the 12th to give his team a 7-6 win and secure their number one spot in the NL East.

Ryan was the first to reach Bryce. "Fuck yeah, Kid!" That was all he could get out before the rest of the team stampeded in and nearly bowled them over with excitement.

It was good to be on top.

* * *

Spirits were riding high in the Nats clubhouse, but after playing 12 innings, giving dozens of post-game interviews and showering off gallons of Gatorade they were all more than eager to get home to a good night's sleep. Tomorrow was another day and another game.

Bryce glanced around the locker room as he packed the last of his things; it was almost emptied out. All that remained were himself, Ryan, Ian and Danny. He raised a curious brow at the latter two – they were on the other end of the room talking in hushed voices – but he didn't have any time to think on it when Ryan came over with a wide grin on his face.

"See what happens when you relax?"

Bryce smirked to himself. Ever since their conversation on the way back from Miami he and Ryan had been like two peas in a pod – he had always looked up to him as a mentor, but in recent weeks had also become one of his closer friends on the team.

"Yeah, yeah. You did good tonight too, man."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "I did better, yeah. I'm still working on it, but I figured something out with my shoulder today. It's a work in progress."

Bryce opened his mouth in response – but once again his attention was drawn to Ian and Danny. They were headed their way, and Ian was giving him a peculiar look.

"Come on," he mouthed as he passed; but Bryce didn't understand what the problem was.

"Hey, Zim, can I talk to you for minute?"

That cleared things right up. Ian glanced to Bryce again and nudged his head toward the door. They really needed to go.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Bryce said, and he followed Ian out the door.

All the lightheartedness that had filled the atmosphere was replaced with nothing but tangible tension. Ryan knew that, whatever it was Danny wanted to talk about, it had to do with Leah. He could tell just by the look on his face.

"What's up?"

Danny looked down to his feet; he was clearly uncomfortable. "Have you talked to Leah recently?"

Ryan shook his head – that seemed like a strange thing for him to ask. "No, I haven't actually. Why, have you not either?"

"No, I have. I just didn't know if she had already told you."

That immediately worried him. "Told me what?"

Again, Danny couldn't look him in the eye. It made Ryan even more concerned about whatever it was he was about to say; but finally he spit it out.

"Okay, Ryan, look. I know you haven't approved of my relationship with Leah pretty much from the start. But I care a lot about her, whether you believe it or not, and I wanted to let you know that the other night I asked her to be my girlfriend. I want to be with her, and I really don't want this to be a cause of tension between us anymore."

Ryan didn't know what surprised him more: the fact that Danny and his sister were finally an official item or how forthright he was being in telling him the news. It took him more than just a few seconds to process it all.

But he really didn't have much to say on the matter.

"Alright," he nodded as he shouldered his gear bag. "I appreciate that you told me, and as long as Leah's happy I'll keep my nose out of it. But I swear to God if you hurt my little sister…" he let the threat die in the air, and with that final ominous word he left the clubhouse.

Danny let out a breath as he turned his eyes to the ceiling. Well, at least he hadn't objected to it.


	4. A Disaster at the Park

_The Nationals have literally broken my heart. But I still love them, and as a woeful Mets fan told me at the bar the other night, at least the Nats are stilla young team with a bright future ahead of them (sorry to any Mets fans who may be reading this)._

_Anywho, hopefully this fic will keep all your Natitude strong throughout the off-season... and by the time I have to write about that disastrous game 5 hopefully it won't hurt as bad._

_This is probably my favorite chapter, and I think you'll like it too. Enjoy, and please review!_

**Chapter Four**

Leah didn't know if she was tired of being on the road because she was actually tired of it or because she wanted so badly to just be in the same place as Danny.

The P-Nats' and Nationals' schedules weren't meeting up at all. When Leah had been away in Frederick, Danny had been home in D.C., and the very same night she had gotten back he had already been on his way to Boston. It had been seven days since she had last seen him, seven days since he had apologized with cupcakes and wine and made their relationship official. Of course, Leah had gone weeks, even months without seeing him before – but now it was different. Now she was his and he was hers, and they hadn't even been able to spend 12 hours together after that night in her apartment.

_Four more days_, she thought as she stared out the team bus window. They were on their way to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and after that Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; but Leah wouldn't be joining them for the beach. That Thursday was her brother's ziMS Foundation 3rd annual "A Night at the Park" benefit event and there was no way she was going to allow herself to miss it. Her career was important to her, but not nearly as important as her family – even when she and Ryan were at odds with one another.

Her phone buzzed, and she smiled when she saw why: it was a text from Danny.

_Did you hear we swept the Red Sox?_

Of course she had heard – she had checked the score of the game every chance she could get.

_Yeah. I also heard you got the first run and brought home the second and third :)_

Danny had played very well that day and he seemed to be getting more and more comfortable on both sides of the plate with each and every game on the road trip. Leah was unbelievably proud of him; and she couldn't help but think that maybe she had something to do with his improvement.

_Well I had help from Ryan on the first one._

The mere mention of her brother brought a frown to her lips. Danny had told her all about their conversation in the clubhouse last week, and Ryan's attitude had bothered her so much that she had called him up just to tell him what a douchebag he was being about the whole thing. They hadn't spoken since.

So really, nothing much had changed.

But before she could dwell on it Danny sent her another text.

_Will you be here Thursday?_

Just like that she forgot all about her brother. _Yup :) I'm taking the Amtrak from Greensboro to Union Station early Thursday morning. Heather's picking me up._

She hit "send," and as the text went off to Danny's phone she debated asking him something, just to be sure; and in the end she just couldn't stop herself.

_You're still coming with me to Night at the Park right?_

It would be their first club event together as an official couple, and it made Leah more than just a little nervous. It was her brother's event, and her entire family would be there; and she honestly didn't know whether or not that made a difference to Danny.

But his response quelled her anxiety. _Only if you wear that dress I managed not to rip ;)_

She couldn't keep from smiling as she typed. _Already planned on it._

Whether the dress would remain rip-free by the end of the night… well, that was too early to tell.

* * *

"Get in the car, bitch. We're going shopping."

"_Heather_," Leah groaned in anguish as she climbed into the passenger seat of Heather's SUV. She had literally just gotten off the train from Greensboro, lugging all of her bags along with her, and the only place she wanted to go was home to her bed. "I just want to sleep!"

"Didn't you sleep on the train?"

"Yes. But it wasn't my bed."

That was no excuse for Heather. "Too bad. I still don't have a dress for the gala this Saturday and I _know_ you don't, so therefore we're going shopping."

That was something Leah truly couldn't believe; she thought Heather would have had her dress picked out months ago. The annual Nationals Dream Foundation Gala was the ritziest event the club would hold all year, and as the significant other of the Nats' franchise player Heather always made sure she looked perfect. Putting off finding her dress until three days prior was completely unlike her.

"_You_ don't have your dress yet? The person who's constantly emailing me potential bridesmaids dresses?"

"Well, that's exactly why I don't have a dress for Saturday," she explained, "because I've been busy looking at bridesmaid and wedding dresses."

Leah's head fell back in defeat as Heather took off – it looked like she wasn't getting out of this. Nevertheless, she made one last effort. "But Danny was gonna come over…"

"Leah," Heather returned, and even with her sunglasses covering her eyes Leah knew just the look she was giving her. "You and me both know damn well that if Danny comes over the last thing you'll be doing is sleeping."

She pouted and sunk down into her seat. It looked like she and her future sister-in-law were going shopping.

* * *

Over an hour and what felt like dozens of dresses later, Leah still hadn't found anything she liked. Apparently this decision was a lot more complicated than she had realized.

"I don't know whether I should go short or long," she said as she examined herself in the mirror. She actually really liked the strapless cocktail dress she was currently modeling, but the pastel pink and petal-appliquéd skirt made her feel – and look – like she was fresh out of high school.

"Well," Heather started, "it's black tie, which technically means you should go long; but no one follows that rule anymore. I think you should go short. You're young, it's a party."

"It's a _formal _party," Leah stressed. "And I don't want to look _too_ young. I am dating the 25-year-old second baseman."

Just the thought of people misjudging her age was mortifying. Her and Danny's relationship – if it could have been called that up until this point – had been scrutinized enough over the course of the last year without complete strangers wondering if she was jailbait.

"You're thinking too much," Heather pointed out the obvious. "In the right dress you won't look too young. _That's_ not the right dress, short _or_ long. Go try on another one."

Leah muttered under her breath. "You won't be a bridezilla…" She returned, somewhat reluctantly, back to the dressing room, while Heather continued to play on her iPhone; she had been lucky enough to find her dress – a strapless red Badgley Mischka gown – in the very first store they tried.

When Leah reemerged a few minutes later she didn't even get five steps down the hallway before Heather gasped.

"That's it. You're getting that dress, no ifs, ands or buts."

"Really?" She stepped in front of the mirrors once more, and when she saw her reflection Leah had to admit: she looked pretty good.

It was a floor length gown made of flowing chiffon, with a sweetheart neckline and a single strap over her left shoulder. It was plain and without embellishment, but the deep plum color looked rich against her tanned skin, and a thigh-high slit in the skirt offered a flirtatious touch. Heather was right: it was the dress.

"You don't think the slit is too much?"

Heather shook her head. "No. It only shows when you walk, anyway. It's fine."

Leah continued to study herself in the mirror, but she wasn't looking at the dress any longer; she wasn't really looking at anything. Her thoughts, fears and worries had all swallowed her up, and the next thing she knew her reflection was frowning back at her.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

She resurfaced from her sea of distress to find concern written all over Heather's face. "No, I do like the dress," she assured her. "I'm just nervous. I'm nervous about _tonight_, let alone Saturday."

Nothing more needed to be said. Heather knew exactly why she was nervous.

"Leah," gently she tugged on her wrist so that she would look at her, and not just her reflection. "Don't worry about Ryan's or anyone else's opinions about you and Danny. Your relationship isn't anyone else's business, and if they have nothing better to do than judge you they're the ones with the problem. None of the guys care, and I promise you Ryan's coming around. Okay?"

Leah nodded in consent; but truthfully she just didn't have the energy to talk about it. "Okay."

It was so much easier said than done.

* * *

Over 700 people had come out to Nationals Park for the 3rd annual ziMS Foundation "A Night at the Park" event. Since its inception it had only grown more and more successful: there was good food, good entertainment and fantastic items up for auction, the proceeds of which all went to Multiple Sclerosis awareness and research. It was something extremely important to Ryan and the rest of his family: his mother had been diagnosed with MS when he was just a teenager, and ever since then he had been inspired to help find a cure for the disease. Now, thanks to the Nationals, he could.

But as much as Leah looked forward to the event each and every year, tonight she wasn't nearly as excited as usual.

Danny could sense her nerves. "Hey," he stopped her just before they could enter the yard. "_Relax_, babe. You're making _me_ anxious."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. She took a deep breath; it felt like her body temperature had risen five degrees and her hands were already becoming clammy with sweat. "It's just that my whole family is in there. Should I introduce you to them? As my boyfriend? I don't even know."

Leah didn't know what exactly the rest of her family knew or didn't know about her relationship with Danny. Her brother Shawn was aware of the nature of it, but unlike Ryan he couldn't care less what she did in her love life. Her mom and dad, on the other hand; well, they were aware she was "friendly" with Danny but they certainly didn't know she had developed any sort of physical or romantic relationship with him. Had they known, her father probably would have paid Ryan to implant a tracking device on her in her sleep; and Ryan would have done it for free.

Needless to say, she didn't know if it was the proper time to introduce the Nationals second baseman as her "boyfriend" to them just yet.

"Don't worry about that," Danny replied with a crooked grin. "You're always over thinking things. Let's just go in there and have a good time, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay," she said, and he placed a reassuring kiss on her forehead before taking her hand and leading her into the ballpark.

The festivities were already well underway: people were mingling and drinking and already debating how much money they'd be willing to spend on the items up for auction. Danny was leading them over to where Gio and Jesus were talking with a few others; but, honestly, the first stop Leah wanted to make was the bar. She could use a drink to calm her nerves.

Especially when she spotted Ryan coming their way.

"Here we go," she muttered. Danny just gave her a look.

"Hey," Ryan greeted them with a surprisingly genuine smile. At least he seemed to be in a good mood. "What's up, man?"

Danny nodded. "Not much. Looks like things are going pretty well tonight."

"Yeah, everything's gone off without a hitch so far. I just hope the auction does well." He turned to his sister, and suddenly he wasn't so chipper anymore. "Hey Leah, can I talk to you for a sec?"

She should have known it was a trap.

"Sure," she grudgingly obliged; there was no way she could get away with denying him, not tonight. She didn't bother to hide her agitation when she turned to Danny. "I'll meet you over there."

"Alright," he consented. He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze, and with another nod at Ryan he left them alone.

"So," Leah cut right to the chase, "what is it?"

Ryan wore a look like he couldn't find the right words to say. Actually, it was more like he knew exactly what he needed to say but didn't want to say it, like a child who was being forced to swallow cough syrup. Eventually, though, he spit it out.

"Look, I know you think I've been out of line with the way I've handled this whole thing with you and Danny. But I also know that somewhere deep down you know I'm only doing it because I love you and I care about you."

"But–" she tried to interject but he silenced her.

"Just listen to me. I could have set you up with Danny myself and I still would kick his ass if he hurt you."

He was smirking, but Leah wasn't amused at all. In fact, she was quite upset – and she didn't hesitate to let him know just how upset she was.

"But that doesn't mean you need to threaten him with it, Ryan. _That's_ what I have an issue with. Danny came and talked to you because he respects you and because he looks up to you, and although he'd never admit it I _know_ he wants your approval. And so far you haven't given him any. It's like you _expect_ him to hurt me."

If Danny ever found out she had said that to Ryan he would probably kill her, but it was a truth Leah believed he needed to know. Ryan was the veteran and captain of the ball club – the entire dugout looked up to him, especially those who had been homegrown within the Nationals organization. His negative attitude was having more of an effect on Danny than he realized.

But he clearly wasn't in any mood to discuss it.

"Okay, this obviously isn't the time or place to have this conversation."

"You need to apologize to him," Leah pressed, but Ryan was done.

"Leah, just go have a good time, okay?"

"I'm serious, Ryan."

"And I'm serious that this is not the time," he said with more than just a hint of finality. "Go say hi to mom, she's been waiting to see you." And with that he walked off.

She had been there all of 10 minutes, and already Leah wanted to go home. "I need that drink now."

* * *

"Hey, where's Min Zim? I thought you came with her?"

Danny just shrugged at Gio's question. Honestly, he hadn't seen Leah since Ryan had asked to speak with her and that had been at least half an hour ago now. "She's here, but I don't know where she went off to. As soon as we got here Ryan wanted to talk to her and I haven't seen her since. She's probably with her parents."

"Speaking of her parents," Morse jumped in, "it would be a good idea to go say hi to them. This kind of is their event, after all, and you are dating their daughter."

"Wait, do they know you're dating her?" Gio asked.

"Doesn't matter," Morse insisted. "It would make a good impression regardless."

"True," Gio agreed. "Hey, it would probably help with Zim, too."

Danny took a long drink of his beer; he would need another soon if Gio and Morse kept going the way they were, like they knew better than him. Of course it had crossed his mind to go say hi to Leah's parents, but he didn't feel comfortable doing that without Leah. He wasn't even sure if they should take that step yet – they had only been official barely two weeks now, and he had no idea what her parents knew or didn't know about the last year.

As for Ryan, well, Danny honestly felt like there was no helping his case there, no matter how hard he tried.

"I think I could do everything absolutely right and Zim still wouldn't think I'm good enough for Leah," he muttered.

"You just got together; don't think like that. He just needs to get used to it."

Gio's attempt at reassurance wasn't much help. "We didn't _just_ get together. Not really."

"Well, you do know the reason Zim doesn't exactly trust you with Leah is because it took you a year to get this far, right?"

Danny gave Morse a dark look. Yes, he was aware of that, thanks.

"I'm just sayin'," he said and took a swig of his beer.

"He thinks it took me a year because I just wanted to have some fun with her, which is complete bullshit," he answered. "I could find some cleat-chaser if I just wanted to have fun. It's a lot more complicated than that."

"Well you should tell him that," Morse resolved.

"No," Danny objected. "I'm done trying to tell him anything; I'm just going to do my best to make Leah happy. If Zim finally realizes that I actually care about her, that's great. If not, it's his problem." He finished off the last of his beer and tossed it in the trash. "I'll see you guys later, I'm gonna go find her."

Gio waited until Danny was out of earshot before saying anything. "Good job, Dr. Phil."

Morse glared at him. "Shut up."

* * *

Leah really just wanted to go home.

The "talk" with Ryan had put her in a sour mood that even free drinks couldn't elevate – and she had had a few by now. One to relax her before seeing Shawn and her parents, and a second to calm her down after they had poked and prodded and tried to pry out of her what was wrong. They were literally the last people on Earth she wanted to have that discussion with.

So she had gotten a third cocktail, and in search of some solitude and peace of mind come out to the playground. But so far even the swings weren't cheering her up.

"Mind if I join you?"

She looked up from her shoes to find one of the last people she ever would have expected to see away from the center of the action: Bryce Harper.

"Sure," she agreed. She had been out here all alone for at least 20 minutes now; she was up to having some non-partisan company.

Bryce crossed onto the playground and didn't think twice about taking a seat in the swing next to her. The sight alone made Leah grin: a six-foot-three, 215-pound pro baseball player sitting in a swing on a kiddy play place. It was quite a thing to behold.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be somewhere schmoozing people up with Ryan?"

She shook her head. "I'm not nearly as good at schmoozing as Ryan is. He got all the charisma and I got all the looks," she joked.

"That's charisma enough," Bryce answered with a smirk. Leah just smiled and looked away.

"I could ask you the same thing. Why aren't you in there talking everybody up, Mr. Phenom?"

Bryce ran a hand through his dark shaggy hair, and if Leah didn't know any better she would say he even looked a bit uncomfortable. "It starts to get a little annoying when every 10 minutes another girl tries to throw herself at you."

Leah let out a loud laugh. Maybe it was the alcohol, but she didn't believe him for one second. "_Really?_ Come on, you like the attention. You could have the pick of any girl you wanted. You could have a Victoria's Secret model if you wanted!"

He smirked, but he was also quick to shake his head. "I like the attention out on the field, sure. But I'm really not interested in hooking up with any cleat-chasers; especially when they're 10 years older than me."

It was a quip Bryce had meant to be laughed at – but Leah was far too busy marveling at him to laugh. "You really only care about baseball, don't you?"

He smiled. It was the kind of smile that could only come from the heart, the kind that couldn't possibly be faked. It radiated genuine happiness, and it communicated more than any words possibly could just how much he loved his sport.

"It's not the _only_ thing I care about, but it's pretty damn important. I mean, baseball is my life; it's my well-being. I left high school early to pursue this dream, and now that I'm here I'm not gonna screw it up or become distracted by the lifestyle. It's my goal to do my absolute best – and then I want to do better. And I want to do my best for this team, for this city, for these fans; not just for myself. I can't do that if I'm worrying about partying or girls or whatever. Then again, that doesn't mean I can't have or don't want a relationship with a girl. Now just isn't the right time. Or I just haven't met the right girl yet."

His gaze met hers, but Leah had been left in an absolute daze; she was at a complete loss for anything to say. It was probably the alcohol again – all she was thinking was what a nice shade of blue his eyes were.

"Danny's looking for you, you know."

That snapped her out of her trance. "Oh," she said as reality came back to her. "I guess I did disappear on him. I actually haven't seen him since we got here."

"Yeah, he mentioned that," Bryce noted. "Something about Ryan wanting to talk to you."

Leah rolled her eyes. "That's what I'm out here trying to forget. By the way, I hear from Heather that you and him are BFFs now."

That made him laugh. "I guess, if you want to put it that way. I probably do hang out with him more than any of the other guys. We just have a lot in common."

"Do you agree it's a bad idea that I'm dating Danny?"

The question blurted out of her mouth before she could stop it. That was _definitely_ the alcohol. But she didn't have much time to be embarrassed before he answered.

"No, not as long as he treats you right."

He was so sincere. It left Leah, once again, unsure of what to say.

But her phone ringing broke the silence.

"Speak of the devil," she said when she saw Danny's name spelled out across the screen. "Hello?"

"Where are you?"

The agitated tone of his voice caught her completely off guard. "I'm out on the playground."

"I've been looking for you for 10 minutes."

Leah let out a sigh; she really did feel bad about vanishing like that. "I'm sorry. Ryan really pissed me off and things didn't get much better after. I just needed some time to myself."

"Yeah, well Morse kind of pissed me off, too."

That confused her. "What did he do?" she asked, but Danny really didn't have the patience.

"I really don't feel like getting into it right now, Leah. Honestly, I just want to leave."

"Okay," she said. "Do you want to meet me at the car?"

"Sure. I'll see you there."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

Just like that he hung up.

"I guess I'm leaving," she said as she looked down at her phone. It wasn't nearly as much of a relief as she had thought it would be – she had just begun to enjoy herself sitting there on the swings talking with Bryce.

"Are you sure?" he questioned. Truthfully, he was concerned. From what he could discern it hadn't sounded like Danny was too happy; but more importantly he was pretty sure Leah wasn't exactly okay to drive.

"I have to," she answered. She stood and gave him a halfhearted smile, "Thanks for hanging out with me."

"It was a real chore," he joked. She just rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you later, Harp. Don't go home with any cougars."

He laughed as he looked up at her. "I promise I won't."

With one last grin and a wave she shuffled off the playground towards the parking lot. Bryce watched as she grew smaller and smaller in the distance, until she finally disappeared around a corner; and when she was gone he found himself wishing she had stayed a little longer.

* * *

_A/N: For those of you who have been to Nats park, no, there aren't any swings on the playground. But I'm enacting my artistic license. __Besides, Danny and Bryce aren't single, either._

_Reviews make me happeh :)_


	5. Family Matters

_THE WAIT IS OVER. I know I've kept you guys waiting too long for this chapter, but trust me when I say it's absolutely worth it; this version is so much better than the original one I had. Getting it to this point was such an absolute headache that I would reaallllyyy appreciate it if you left me some reviews :) Enjoy!_

_Oh, and congrats to Bryce on winning 2012 NL Rookie of the Year!_

**Chapter Five**

Leah awoke to a ringing in her skull. It was sharp and painful, and it was emanating from her nightstand. Someone was calling.

Blindly she fumbled to retrieve the offending cell phone. After grumbling a groggy "Hello," she wished she had checked to see who it was before accepting the call.

"What do you know, you actually answered."

Ryan.

"Maybe you should play the lotto; it's your lucky day." If he wasn't going to at least be cordial, neither was she.

"Thanks for saying goodbye last night. That was really nice of you."

That only made Leah's head throb harder. In the daze of semi-consciousness she had completely forgotten the debacle that was the previous night, and it suddenly all came flooding back to her: the argument with Ryan, the three Tequila Sunrises she had downed, and of course her rather inebriated conversation with Bryce on the swings. God, he probably thought she was such a loser.

"Hello?"

"_What?_" she snapped only to groan in frustration. Perhaps she did owe him an apology. "I'm sorry I left without any notice, it was in the heat of the moment. I wasn't in a good mood and neither was Danny."

Danny. Where was he? Suddenly she realized she was alone in her bed.

"What time is it?" she said to herself as she craned around to look at the clock. It was barely 9:30 – way too damn early for this conversation; not to mention Ryan's smart ass comments.

"Are you hungover? Bryce told me all about your drunken rendezvous on the playground."

"It wasn't a _rendezvous_," she firmly corrected him. "Rendezvous" made it sound so much more scandalous than it actually was. "And I wasn't _drunk_, thanks."

"I honestly don't care," he abruptly dismissed. "I didn't call to talk about last night. I called to tell you that we're all going out to lunch today and you need to come."

By "we" Leah figured he meant himself, Heather, Shawn, and their parents. By "you need to come" she knew they would be talking – scratch that, berating her – about last night.

"What time?" she sighed. There was absolutely no getting out of this, so she wasn't even going to try.

"I'll let you know. I suggest keeping away from any alcohol until afterward."

The line went dead before she could think of a comeback.

"Asshole," she muttered as she tossed the phone aside. What a lovely family get-together this was going to be.

"Morning, sunshine." Danny re-entered the bedroom, fully dressed and wide awake and looking like he was going somewhere. "What's wrong?" he asked upon seeing the frown on her face.

"My head hurts. And Ryan just called and informed me that my presence is required at a family lunch."

"It can't be that bad."

"They're going to scold me about last night."

"I'm sure you can handle yourself," he said as he rubbed a reassuring thumb back and forth over her leg. The comforting tingle of his touch momentarily distracted her from her afternoon plans.

"Are you leaving?" There was no reason for him to stick around, really. She was only going to sleep in a little longer, take a long shower and then get ready to go – and they both knew it wouldn't be the best idea for Danny to tag along to lunch.

He nodded. "Yeah. Bryce and I are taking BP early today, and I want to get a run in beforehand."

"Tell him I said hi."

"Are you best friends now?" he good naturedly teased, and when she scoffed he smiled and leaned over to give her a kiss. "I'll see you tonight."

"Bye," she said as he grabbed his things. Her eyes followed as he disappeared into the hallway, and she let out sigh when the front door shut with a thud.

Today was going to be a very long day.

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Leah Zim—"

Ryan hung up with an inaudible sigh. It was nearly 12:50, and his dear sister was nearly 20 minutes late to this family lunch. If he knew her – and he did – she had likely overslept and was scrambling to get there right now, running red lights and grazing pedestrians as she went. She was a terrifying driver when in a hurry.

"Well, we might as well order appetizers," Ryan's father decided upon checking his watch. He was not at all pleased with his youngest child. He was already upset with her for ditching the event last night, and her tardiness now certainly wasn't doing her any favors; Keith Zimmerman rivaled Marine drill sergeants with the importance he put on punctuality. There was absolutely no doubt in Ryan's mind that, had she been a few years younger and still living at home, Leah would have earned herself two weeks grounding, minimum.

"I'm sure she's on her way," Heather stated with a pointed glance at Ryan, and when he didn't immediately back her up she shot him a warning glare. But just as he opened his mouth Leah came flying into the restaurant.

"Sorry, I'm really sorry," she hastily apologized as she flopped down into the empty seat across from him. "I got here as fast as I could."

It was evident just from her appearance that Ryan's suspicions were correct. Her hair was still damp from a shower, her makeup wasn't nearly as flawless as she liked it to be and it looked like she had thrown on the first clean thing she spotted. After he called she must have passed out, slept too long and then had to rush to get ready and out the door.

"Sleep it off?"

If she could shoot laser beams out of her eyes Ryan would have been dead on the spot – but at the sound of their father's authoritative voice all the malice drained from her expression and was replaced with nothing but the pure terror of a child who knows they've screwed up big time.

"Leah, where have you been?"

She couldn't even look at him. "I overslept. I'm sorry, I should have set an alarm after Ryan called."

"Overslept? Then what were you up to last night? Because I know you weren't at the ball park."

Well that escalated quickly.

"I was at home," she explained. It was the truth; she just decided to leave out the little bit about Danny. "I'm sorry, I've just been worn out lately with everything going on." That was the truth too. But she knew it was no excuse.

"You know how important Night at the Park is to all of us, Leah."

Leah's heart dropped into her stomach. Her mother was literally the worst possible person who could have said that. It made her feel about a millimeter tall.

"I know," she repeated in an uncharacteristically small voice. "I'm sorry." That was really all she could say at this point, and it didn't feel anywhere near good enough.

An awkward silence fell over the table as the waitress returned to ask if they were ready to order. Leah hadn't even opened her menu, but by the time the waitress got around to her she just ordered the first appetizing thing she spotted – a turkey club sandwich – and sank down into her seat. This was going to be an extremely long lunch.

"So how is your internship going? I haven't heard much about it."

Leah had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. She knew what her father was doing; he wasn't interested in hearing about her internship for the sake of hearing about it. He was digging for info, evidence that she wasn't staying "on course." Hadn't they left this behind when she turned 18?

"It's going fine," she answered in a rather clipped tone. "I'm glad for this little break, though. All the travel is exhausting."

"You'll have to get used to it if you want to be a full-time trainer," Ryan threw in.

"I'm well aware," she bit back. Now was _not_ the time for him to play Dad #2.

"Speaking of training," her actual dad interjected, "how's that NATA certification coming? Have you signed up to take the exam yet?"

Leah shrunk back into her chair once more. She knew he wasn't going to like her answer. "No, not yet."

"Well when do you have to register by?"

"I don't know, I haven't looked yet." Between her numerous responsibilities for the P-Nats, her relationship with Danny and her drama with Ryan, the National Athletic Training Association certification exam was literally the _last_ thing on Leah's mind.

And she knew her dad was _not_ okay with that.

"Don't put that off, Leah. It would be an invaluable asset to your career if you could get certified."

"I'm not putting it off, Dad," she defended. She was becoming angry. This lunch was quickly turning into a would-be intervention, and it was embarrassing that it was being played out in front of _everyone_. "Do you know how busy I am? With everything going on I really don't think I have the time to study for something like that right now."

He folded his napkin in his lap. The very act irritated her, let alone the dissenting look on his face. But she was in no way prepared for what he said next.

"I just want to make sure you're focused on what's important and not on… _frivolous_ things."

Those "frivolous" things needn't be clarified; Leah knew from the inflection in his tone _exactly_ what he meant. She cast incriminating eyes on Ryan, and his complete avoidance of her gaze only confirmed her suspicion.

He had blabbed about her relationship with Danny.

This was going to be an extremely long lunch indeed.

* * *

"_Fuck_."

Bryce Harper was not a happy camper. In fact, none of the Nationals were. Nor their thousands of fans packed into the bleachers.

The almighty New York Yankees had returned to D.C. for the first time in 6 years, and the weekend series against the Nationals was the most buzzed about in all of baseball. It was the top team in the NL East vs. the top team in the AL East, the new kids on the block vs. arguably the most storied franchise in baseball, and Nationals Park was absolutely packed to the brim with Nats and Yanks fans alike. Both teams had entered the series with a six-game winning streak, and both camps were more than confident they would come out on top.

But at the moment it was all but guaranteed the Yankees' streak would be the one to continue.

The majority of the game had been a fairly even match-up: Gio had been pitching just as well as Yankees RHP Phil Hughes, and while the Yanks had been the first to score with two runs in the top of the third, the Nats had immediately answered with one of their own. After that there had been a whole lot of nothing… until the Nats completely unraveled in the top of the seventh.

Gio had been switched out for RHP Brad Lidge after Yankees outfielder Andruw Jones had singled on a ground ball to Lombardozzi. He had been pitching well enough, but righty Lidge would be a more formidable opponent for the Yankees' majority righty lineup. With the game so close to over, Nats manager Davey Johnson wanted to give the Yanks as little chance as possible to score any more runs.

As it turned out, though, he probably would have been better off leaving Gio on the mound.

Dewayne Wise (pinch running for Jones) had stolen second base right out from under Lidge, who then walked Russell Martin. Jayson Nix then hit a sacrifice bunt, advancing the runners to second and third. Then Robinson Cano had come up to bat, and wanting nothing of his .340 batting average the decision was made to intentionally walk him – and it had proven to be a detrimental move.

With the bases loaded and one out, none other than famed Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter had stepped up to the plate. Lidge had held him for five pitches, battling to a full count; but Jeter got a hold of a four-seam fastball, and all it took was one well-placed single to score Wise and Martin. Well, one well-placed single and a throwing error by Ian Desmond. The Bronx Bombers led 4-1 after the slip-up – and they had scored two more before the inning was out.

It was now the bottom of the eighth, and the hometown heroes still trailed 6-2. The crowd was deflated, all excitement gone and hope all but lost that the Nats would make a triumphant comeback. Tonight, the Yankees had just been the better team.

But not if Bryce had anything to say about it.

Bryce had grown up idolizing the New York Yankees. They had been his favorite team, the only team he had wanted to play for before fate had brought him to the Nationals, before he had fallen in love with Washington, D.C. He had dreamed of one day taking the field alongside these very men, and now that that day had arrived he positively itched to prove himself. He wanted everyone to see that he could hang with the legendary Bronx Bombers, to know that one day his name would be just as revered as those of his childhood heroes.

But more importantly, Bryce wanted everyone to see that his team, the Washington Nationals, was a viable threat to the Yankees and everyone else in the league.

It was his fifth at-bat of the night. So far he had only managed to get on base once the entire game, but he planned on changing that right now; even if the count was already 0-2 after two pitches.

LHP Clay Rapada was on the mound. So far he had thrown two sinkers, and Bryce damn well knew he wasn't going to see a fastball. He went through his customary pre-bat ritual: tighten up his batting gloves; examine his bat; cross tap home plate one, two, three times; square up. Whatever this next pitch was, he would have to foul it off or get a hit if he wanted to stay alive; and he had every intention of blasting it out of the park and into the Anacostia River.

Rapada squinted his eyes, waiting for a call from Nix that he agreed with. The stadium rumbled as the Nats fans suddenly re-energized; they all hoped, and even expected, that the Kid would be the one to start a rally to turn the game around. Bryce certainly didn't want to let them down.

Rapada wound up and delivered the pitch. It moved as if in slow motion. Bryce lifted his right foot and swung for the fences…

And completely missed the ball. Strike three. The 77 mph slider really had been moving in slow motion.

"FUCK!"

That was, in all likelihood, the last at-bat he would get tonight. And he had struck out swinging.

No one said a word to him as he stormed into the dugout, nor when he tossed his bat and helmet back into their cubbies with just a little more force than necessary and stalked off into the tunnel. His teammates already knew to leave him alone while he vented his frustration.

When he did finally return to the dugout, Danny was the first to speak to him. "You need to relax up there, man. The Yanks got you a little too excited."

Bryce completely ignored him. Okay, so he was still a little heated. Danny brushed it off; they were all frustrated. This series was putting the Nationals under a microscope unlike ever before – skeptics and critics were waiting in the wings to see if they could hang with the big boys and condemn them if they couldn't. Unfortunately, it looked like the vultures would get their fill tonight.

"I'm just saying. We've all been a little anxious tonight."

"Shit, man," Ryan breathed as he returned to the dugout – he had just hit a flyout to right field. "They're killing us out there, and we have to deal with Pettitte tomorrow."

That certainly didn't bode well. Andy Pettitte was a seasoned 17-year veteran; the pitchers throwing tonight were veritable newbies compared to him. If the Nats couldn't handle these guys, how were they going to fare against a five-time World Series champion?

"Don't psyche yourself out already," Danny commented.

"I'm just saying," Ryan returned. Danny didn't miss the underlying indignation in his tone.

He turned his attention to comparing notes with Bryce on the different pitches they had seen, but Danny tuned them out. The exchange had caused his thoughts to drift to Leah. She had texted him about the lunch, about how Ryan had let the proverbial cat out of the bag about their relationship, about how unpleased her father had been with everything. It was deflating news. First her brother didn't trust him, and now her dad thought he was nothing but a distraction.

Ryan let out a laugh at something Bryce said, and Danny's thoughts turned resentful. He wondered if Big Brother Bear would be so hard on Wonderboy if he was the one dating his sister.

Probably not.

The stadium let out a collective sigh – LaRoche had struck out swinging after waging a fair battle at the plate. Three up, three down. Danny stood and put his ball cap back on his head.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

Leah just wanted to go home. Again.

She stood slumped against the tunnel wall, staring aimlessly at the ground. She was exhausted. As guilty as she felt about everything that had transpired over the last 24 hours – and felt very, _very_ guilty – she honestly wished her parents would just go back home to Virginia Beach and give her some room to breathe. But they weren't, not yet. Tomorrow night was the annual Nationals Dream Foundation Gala, which everyone and their mom – literally – would be attending. That meant Leah's parents and her boyfriend would, yet again, be at the same event. But now that said parents knew said boyfriend actually _was_ her boyfriend, it had the potential to be an even bigger disaster than A Night at the Park had been.

"Smile, Leah. I don't think you've smiled once all day. Although, I can't really blame you for being upset about the game."

Shawn's effort was futile – all it did was prompt Leah to look up from her spot on the ground and glare at him. She _hated_ when people told her to smile, and he knew it.

He just smirked. Shawn was the typical middle child: quiet, unassuming, kept to himself. Leah's relationship with him was very different from her relationship with Ryan. The best way to put it was that while she and Ryan were like best friends, she and Shawn were more like acquaintances. Then again, while she and Ryan could annoy the hell out of each other a lot of the time, she and Shawn had always gotten along quite well, probably due to the fact that he stayed out of her business.

She hoped he wasn't about to buck the trend.

"Dad and Ryan have been pretty rough on you lately."

Leah gave a wry laugh. "How nice of you to notice."

He ignored the retort. "They'll back off eventually; they just want what's best for you. But for what it's worth, I think you're doing just fine."

That was not something she had expected him to say. On the contrary, she knew she wasn't doing "just fine"; but it helped to hear something other than negativity from someone in her family.

"Thanks, Shawn."

"Yo."

They looked up upon hearing Ryan's voice. Leah suppressed a groan.

"You heading back home?" he asked Shawn as he reached them. Shawn nodded.

"Yeah, I have some work I need to catch up on."

"You're a workaholic, man," Ryan said.

"No more than you are," he returned. Ryan just shook his head and grinned. "It was good seeing you. Some advice, though: how about hitting something tomorrow, huh?"

"Rude," Ryan quipped, but he knew his brother was only joking. They all said their goodbyes, and Shawn left with a wave. His absence was filled with tense silence.

"Where's Heather?" Ryan asked. He was all ready to go, showered and changed with his gear bag slung over his shoulder. He obviously didn't want to be in this position any more than Leah did.

"Bathroom," she gave her terse response, and it was back to silence. Until Ryan opened his big mouth.

"Do you really think mom and dad hadn't figured something was going on between you and Danny? I mean, you showed up with him. And _left_ with him."

Leah wearily shook her head. She didn't want to have this conversation right now. "That's not even the point."

"Then what the hell is?"

Her brows lowered as she turned incredulous eyes on him. "Well damn, it's a good thing you didn't need any common-freaking-sense to get into UVA."

He rolled his eyes. "Spare me the bullshit, Leah. I'm tired of arguing with you about this."

"Well then maybe you should try minding your own business!" she positively erupted. The only thing keeping her from full-on screaming was the knowledge that everyone in the clubhouse would overhear. "_My_ relationship is not _your_ information to share!"

"Mom _asked_ me. What did you want me to do, lie to her?"

"You sure as hell didn't have to outright _tell_ her! I wanted to tell mom and dad on _my_ terms, not _yours_. You're making things difficult enough by being a little bitch about everything, and now dad's gonna be breathing down my neck too! Thanks for looking out for me, _bro_."

"Leah, come on…"

"Shove it up your ass."

She stormed off without another word. Danny would just have to meet her in the parking lot.


	6. Murphy's Law

_See, you didn't have to wait nearly as long this time around! Well, I'm going to let this chapter speak for itself. Enjoy, and please review..._**  
**

**Chapter Six**

It had finally arrived, the evening of the 2012 Nationals Dream Gala. The theme was, pun intended, "Diamonds Are Forever," and both the guests and décor at the Gaylord National Resort at National Harbor certainly looked the part. It was the primary fundraising event which the Nationals Dream Foundation held annually to support its three cornerstone programs: the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, the Nationals Pediatric Diabetes Care Complex at Children's National Medical Center, and the Neighborhood Initiative to improve areas in Southwest and Southeast D.C. It was the premier event that everyone looked forward to at the start of every season – but it was too bad that the night hadn't started off on a better note.

The Nationals had fallen to the Yankees 5-3 in 14 grueling innings; and, as expected, no one seemed quite as upset about the loss as did young Bryce Harper.

He felt as if he had failed the whole team, himself and the entire Nats fan base. He hadn't managed to get one single hit on the night, and in seven at-bats he had struck out six times. _Six_. But what bothered him even more was that he could have saved the game and series both.

In the bottom of the 14th he had been up with two outs and two on; Jesus Flores was on second, Steve Lombardozzi on first. If Bryce had just gotten a hit he would have been able to drive at least Flores home and then maybe Zim could have tied it up.

But that didn't happen; he didn't get a hit. He had grounded out and lost the game, the series, for everyone. Tonight, Danny would have been absolutely right: he had been way too anxious. He had allowed his frustration to get the best of him.

"Earth to Bryce. Yo, Bryce!"

Lombardozzi snapped him out of his thoughts, and all of sudden he and Tyler Moore were standing in front of him, all dressed up in penguin suits just like the rest of the team. Where the hell had they come from?

"You were somewhere else, man," Tyler said in his Mississippi lilt.

Bryce shook his head; he must have really zoned out. "I know, dude, I'm still thinking about the game."

"Hey, at least we did better than last night," Lombo reasoned with a bit of a shrug.

Tyler started to agree, but Bryce tuned them out; just because he had been thinking about the game didn't mean he wanted to talk about it anymore. He glanced around the room, taking in the scene. Ian and his wife Chelsey were chatting with the owners of the ball club, Ted and Annette Lerner; Ryan was doing his duty as face of the franchise, shaking hands and posing for pictures; Jayson Werth, broken wrist and all, looked like he was challenging mascot Teddy Roosevelt to a race around the ballroom; Gio was laughing as he talked to a brunette in a purple dress—

He did a double take. Was that Leah?

"Bryce, close your mouth. You're starting to drool."

He completely ignored Tyler's comment. "Is that Leah?"

Tyler and Lombo both looked to where he was gawking. Sure enough, the girl in the long purple dress was Leah. A statuesque, movie-star gorgeous, completely glamorous version of Leah that none of them had ever seen before.

"Shit, that is Leah," Lombo was just as taken aback as Bryce. "Where the hell is Danny? He needs to get his girl before someone else tries to take her home."

Tyler smirked. "Too late; I think Romeo over here is already thinking about it."

It took a second before Bryce realized "Romeo" was him. "What?" he scoffed. "No I'm not."

Lombo and Tyler gave each other a sideways glance; they didn't buy it for a second. But Bryce didn't even notice. He was far too preoccupied with his teammate's little sister.

He couldn't take his eyes off her – she was beautiful. He had always thought she was pretty, from the very first moment Ian had introduced them, but he had never given her much of a second thought; at least not until that night on the swings. Ever since then he had found himself thinking of her at the most random of times, even hoping to run into her at the ballpark, just to chat again.

And if he didn't know any better, he'd think he was jealous of the way Gio was making her laugh right now.

"Uh oh… someone looks jealous."

Bryce looked at Lombo like he was stupid. "Why the hell would I be jealous?"

"Because Gio is flirting with Leah," he pointed out rather bluntly.

"Flirting? Come on, they're just talking."

"Yeah okay, and Teddy's won every single Presidents Race this season."

Lombo laughed at Tyler's sarcastic return; Bryce just rolled his eyes. He started to leave to go say hi to Leah – even if it would only make him look even more jealous – but he stopped short when Danny turned up.

"See, even Danny sees that he needs to cut in," Tyler nodded toward them with an _I-told-you-so_ smirk. They all watched as Danny quietly inserted himself into the conversation and placed a protective hand on the small of Leah's back. Every one of them knew Gio wasn't actually trying to move in on Danny's girlfriend, but, as it goes, boys will be boys.

Lombo and Tyler were awaiting Bryce's reaction. He let out an agitated breath. "I'm gonna go talk to Rizzo," he said, and walked off.

"Oh yeah," Lombo started, "completely jealous."

* * *

"Can I get you another glass of wine?"

Leah started to say yes – but it was rudely interrupted by a grimace of pain when Heather kicked her underneath the table. "No," she reluctantly grumbled, and silently vowed to punch Heather in the boob later.

Perhaps she didn't _need_ a second glass of merlot; but she certainly _wanted_ one. Here she was, sitting in uncomfortable formal clothes having an uncomfortable formal dinner at a table with Danny and nearly her entire immediate family: her overbearing parents, her meddling eldest brother and his intervening fiancée, his intervening fiancée's sister… and Bryce.

Ryan had invited Bryce to sit with them upon discovering there was an extra seat at their table; never mind that he was the hottest commodity in the room and probably already had an assigned seat elsewhere. But he was all too eager to join them – and Leah's parents were all too eager to have him. You'd think he was their long lost third son, what with the way they were carrying on.

"So, Bryce, I heard you plan to trademark your 'that's a clown question, bro,' phrase. You probably didn't think it was going to blow up the way it did when you said it!" Leah's father was a little too enthused. Maybe _he_ should cut back on the Coca-Cola.

"No, not at all," Bryce answered with a smirk. The phrase had become a veritable phenomenon after he had used it to respond to a Toronto reporter asking if he would partake in a celebratory beer after hitting a home run in the Nats' sweep over the Blue Jays – Twitter blew up, an Internet meme was born and apparently a Colorado brewery was even planning to create a beer inspired by the terse retort. Once again, Bryce had found himself the headline of nearly every sports show and website in the country without even trying. He seemed more amused by it than anything.

"My legal team came up with the idea to trademark it, and since Under Armour wants to print up a bunch of shirts I figured it'd be a good idea. But yeah, it's pretty crazy. I definitely didn't think it would make such a huge impression; I just thought the question was stupid."

"It was probably best not to answer it, anyway," Leah's mother surmised. "Even though you're old enough to drink in Canada it wouldn't have looked good here."

"Well, I don't plan on drinking even when I am old enough," he replied. "It's just not something I find appealing."

Leah sank into herself. She had completely forgotten: Bryce was Mormon. Mormons didn't drink alcohol. Hell, they didn't drink _caffeine_. Suddenly her "rendezvous" with him on the swings became that much more embarrassing. Maybe she wouldn't punch Heather in the boob, after all; she had likely saved her from another round of alcohol-infused humiliation.

But then, of course, Ryan just had to add in his two cents.

"Yeah, alcohol can make people sloppy."

It was an obvious dig at Leah's recent actions. No, Heather's boob was safe; but Ryan's dignity sure as hell wasn't.

"Oh, can it ever. Hey, Ryan, what do you remember about my 21st birthday? Because what I remember is you blacked out on the couch with your tie around your head."

Everyone at the table choked back smiles and bursts of shocked laughter – especially Danny. Everyone, that is, except Ryan himself and Leah's parents.

"Leah, that was uncalled for," her father chastised. All the smiles dissolved into awkwardness, and Leah's jaw set as she sat stubbornly back. The second the waiter returned she was getting another glass of wine, Heather be damned.

But Danny wasn't going to leave it at just that. "She didn't mean anything by it," he said. "It was only a joke."

Ryan was stunned by his audacity, but it was nothing compared to the stone cold look of complete disregard on her father's face. He didn't so much as say a word before resuming his conversation with Bryce.

Underneath the table Leah placed a hand on Danny's knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze – she appreciated his attempt to defend her more than he knew – but no sooner had she than he excused himself and left.

Her stomach dropped. Murphy's Law was working overtime tonight.

* * *

The dinner and auction had given way to the VIP after party in the Pose Ultralounge and Nightclub, and the formalities were quickly dissolving with the free-flowing liquor. Most of the older guests had gone home for the night, and what remained were the good-time-loving players and fans – some of whom had less-than-honorable intentions.

Some of the guys were completely in their element; but Bryce wasn't having the best time. This wasn't his scene, and every five minutes he was being pulled into another arbitrary conversation or group photo with yet another gaggle of tipsy fans. Normally he would grin and bear it; but at the moment they were preventing him from finding Leah.

After the exchange between Danny and her father she had looked the absolute picture of misery for the remainder of the dinner. She hadn't said another word, not even when Danny returned, and the second it ended she had muttered a begrudged goodbye to her parents before taking off and completely disappearing. For a while Bryce thought she had left, but she had ridden with Heather, who was still there, and he had seen Danny not too long ago.

She had to be here somewhere, and Bryce wouldn't be able to rest until he at least made sure she was as okay as she could be.

He broke away from what must have been the millionth picture he took that night and found safe haven in a set of booths, shrouded in relative darkness compared to the rest of the club. But soon he realized he wasn't the only one who had sought refuge there – so had the very person he was looking for.

"We keep hiding in the same places."

He thought she hadn't heard him – she didn't move a muscle – until she looked up at him with a pair of weary eyes. But they were beautifully weary: her smoky plum-colored makeup brought out in them a dusky shade of green Bryce hadn't even realized was there. No wonder Gio had been flirting with her.

A halfhearted smile spread across her pink lips. "We have to stop meeting like this. Who are you hiding from now?"

"Fans get a little too hands-on when there's liquor involved," he said as he slid down onto the bench across from her. "But, actually, I was looking for you."

That seemed to surprise her. She didn't need to ask why he was looking for her; he could tell just by the look on her face it was exactly what she was thinking. So he gave the most concise answer possible.

"Dinner was kinda rough tonight."

She let out a short laugh. "For me it was, yeah. My parents just seemed to _love_ you, though. Thanks for diverting their attention away from me and my crumbling sensibility for a change. Oh, and I'm _not_ an alcoholic, despite what Ryan might tell you." She scoffed, "As if he's never gotten drunk."

Bryce smirked. "So was he really blacked out with his tie around his head?"

"For half the night," she confirmed. "Heather was freaking out. She thought he was dead. I'd show you photographic evidence, but he made me delete it all. Party pooper."

"Yeah, he is kind of a wet blanket."

Leah couldn't hide her grin. It was the first time Bryce had seen her give a real smile all night. But it was quick to disappear.

"He's an asshole."

The last thing Bryce wanted to do was choose sides between Leah and Ryan. Ryan was one of his best friends on the team, and Leah was… well, he didn't know what she was to him. But he did know he didn't want to upset her by saying the wrong thing; he'd have to pick his words carefully.

"In his defense, he's just been dealing with a lot. I'm not trying to give him an excuse for anything he's said or done to you, but he's been putting a lot of pressure on himself about getting his shoulder working again, and the added pressure from the media definitely isn't helping. The guys who have known him for a while, they've all told me – he's not himself right now. He's a lot… angrier."

Slowly but surely a frown crept its way over Leah's face. Yes, her brother had definitely been sporting a much shorter fuse in recent weeks, but she had thought it was due to her and Danny; she had never stopped to consider the possibility that he was mad with himself, with his poor performance, with the way the talking heads were all tearing him apart – and her recent accusations of him being a bad brother couldn't have helped. No, it wasn't an excuse for some of the things he had said and done, but it certainly made her see them in a different light.

"We've _both_ been really stressed. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of fighting with him."

"Yeah, that last one was pretty bad."

"Yeah— wait," Leah stopped short. Her last fight with Ryan had been the one outside the clubhouse. How would Bryce have known about that? Unless… oh God. "You heard that?"

He just nodded. Leah cringed.

"Oh my God," she buried her face in her hands. "You all heard me call him a little bitch."

Bryce let out a bit of a laugh – it _was_ kind of funny. "There weren't that many of us left. It was just me, Clip, Gio and Danny."

"Ugh," she said and took a sip of her drink. Bryce figured it was time to change the subject, so he said the very first think he could think of.

"You look beautiful, by the way."

She rolled her eyes – not the reaction he had expected. "I'm surprised I haven't killed myself in these shoes. They're Heather's; I'm not the best at walking in heels. With the way my luck's been going I'll probably break my ankle before the night is over."

She had stuck her leg out from underneath the table to show off the three-inch black high heels… but, with the dress having a thigh-high slit and Bryce being a 19-year-old male, the shoe wasn't what he noticed first. And, of course, it was that very moment that Danny appeared.

"What's going on?"

He had a drink in his hand, and it was apparent it wasn't his first. The scene felt awfully familiar.

"We're just talking," Leah's response was rather defensive. "Where have _you_ been? I haven't seen you since the auction ended."

The corner of his mouth turned up with a smirk. "What does it matter? I'm going home now. I hope you have a nice night."

He set his drink on the table, turned heel and left. Leah watched after him for a few dumbfounded seconds, completely clueless as to what had just happened and what to do about it. But then she jumped up after him.

"Leah, just let him go," Bryce tried to stop her, but she either didn't hear him or wasn't listening. Either way, he wasn't just going to let her run off on her own.

He trailed her through the crowded club and out into the hall, just in time to see the stairwell door close – that must have been Danny making his exit. It certainly didn't stop Leah; she went right in after him.

"Danny," her voice echoed off the cement walls as she chased after him. He was already two flights ahead of her, and she wasn't gaining much ground. "Danny, wait. What the hell are you doing? Danny, just _stop_!"

He stopped, albeit reluctantly. "_What_ Leah?"

"You're asking _me_ what?" She was incredulous. "Where do you get off just leaving like this?"

Danny shook his head; he even almost laughed. "Oh, so you're the only one who's allowed to disappear. Is that what it is? So you can go off and have alone time with Harper?"

Leah's eyes widened. Is that what this was all about? Jealousy? "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Every time you run off somewhere I just happen to find you with _him_," he cast incriminating eyes on Bryce, who had come to a stop just a few steps behind Leah. "I suppose it works out. Your family seems to like him a hell of a lot more than they like me."

He started down the stairs again, clearly having said his piece – but Leah was far from done with the conversation. "Danny, you're jumping to conclusions," she said as she struggled to keep up with him. He wasn't stopping for anything now. "Nothing's going on between me and Bryce; this is just a big misunderstanding."

"What is it that I'm misunderstanding?!" He suddenly rounded on her, and the unexpected booming force of his voice caused her to stumble back. He was angry, the angriest Leah had ever seen him, and it was frightening. "It doesn't even matter if something is or isn't going on between you two; the fact of the matter is that your _brother_ hates that I'm with you, your _father_ hates that I'm with you, and they would both be a hell of a lot happier if you were with someone they _approved_ of. I'm sick of it, Leah. I'm sick of not feeling good enough for you, I'm sick of being stressed out and distracted all the fucking time, and I'm sick of not getting along with my fucking team captain. I'm _done_. This relationship is more fucking trouble than it's worth."

Leah stood motionless in the face of Danny's enmity, dead on her feet. She couldn't muster any words to speak, not even a sound; it was as if the air had been knocked from her lungs. But he wasn't done. Not yet.

"I should have known it was a bad idea to get involved with you."

That was it, the knockout blow. Leah was crushed.

But Bryce wasn't going to stand for it.

"Hey! None of this is her fault."

Danny paused, his back to them and one foot on the landing below. He didn't bother with turning all the way around. "Why don't you mind your own damn business, Bryce?"

"It became my business when you accused me of messing around with your girlfriend," he returned. He should have stopped there, he should have let Danny roll his eyes and walk away… but just as it had on the field so many times before, Bryce's agitation got the best of him. "What is that you're really so pissed about, huh? Is it really just that you think Leah's family would rather see her with someone else? Or is it that you know someone else would treat her a hell of a lot better than you have?"

There was a venomous silence – and then Danny swung. His reflexes weren't what they normally were when uninhibited by alcohol, and Bryce dodged the blow by millimeters. He pushed him back against the wall and a tussle ensued. Leah was helpless to stop them; she tried to pull Danny away from Bryce but he was too strong, and she was knocked back onto the steps like a rag doll. They were mere inches from the final flight of stairs, and it seemed inevitable that someone would go tumbling down onto the concrete below…

A blur of black flew past Leah, and all of a sudden Morse had Bryce by the collar of his tuxedo jacket. "STOP!" He wedged his way in between them and pushed Bryce hard against the wall. His shirt had been ripped open, but there wasn't any evidence of a punch having connected.

"He fucking swung at me!"

"I don't fucking care!" Morse boomed. At 6'5" and 230 lbs, he was more intimidating than the both of them combined.

"Leah," she felt herself being pulled up from the steps and looked up to find her brother. She couldn't believe how happy she was to see him. "Are you alright? What the fuck happened here?"

"He started mouthing off about shit he doesn't know anything about!" Danny provided what he thought was the answer. But Bryce, of course, had something to say about it.

"Oh really? Ask anyone on the team and they'll tell you you've been a complete jackass to her!"

Danny tried to get at him again, but Morse shoved him back. "I don't fucking care what happened, _both_ of you are acting like morons right now. Danny, you're fucking drunk and need to go home. And you," he turned to Bryce, "you need to chill the fuck out."

Bryce put his hands up as if in surrender. He was done with the argument, anyway.

"Come on," Morse pushed Danny toward the exit. "I'm taking your drunk ass home."

"I was trying to fucking leave…" Danny angrily muttered, but Morse didn't bother with a response. They left in silence, and the door swung shut behind them with a loud and final bang.

Leah was catatonic. Danny's words had numbed her to the core, and the fist fight had left her in a state of shock. The whole thing had felt like an out-of-body experience, like she was watching a nightmare of her life. Was this really her reality?

"Are you alright?" Ryan asked again.

She made no movements. "I want to go home."

Any animosity he had felt toward her was completely washed away. Ryan just wanted to be there for his little sister. "Alright, I'll go get Heather and we can go."

He started up the steps, but Leah shook her head. "No, she's having a good time. I don't want you to leave because of me. I'll catch a cab."

"No, I'd really rather take you myself."

"Ryan, I'll be fine—"

"I'll take you home," Bryce offered. Leah and Ryan just looked at him, both rather surprised. He gave a tired shrug and ran a hand through his disheveled mess of hair. "I want to get out of here too. You and Heather can stay. I'll give her a ride, if that's alright with you."

The question was directed at Leah; and she didn't answer right away. Truthfully, after what had happened, she didn't know if she did want Bryce to give her a ride. But she was too tired to debate it.

"Fine," she consented.

This was going to be one quiet ride home.

* * *

_A/N: Welp._


End file.
